The Cure
by Seigi no Hoshi
Summary: Ten years later Amelia has fallen ill (don't worry, there is NO Amelia bashing in here), and no one knows what is wrong. Zelgadis decides to take time out of his search to visit


Author's notes: Slayers does not belong to me, nor do any of the characters. I'm surprised I wrote this, as it is not very humorous, and usually I am humorous.  
  
Rated G. There really isn't much objectionalable in here.  
  
Zelgadis sighed. Ten years ago today, he had split up with his friends so that he could search on his own for the cure to his condition. He had been looking so long and hard for a cure, but still he could not find one. He was beginning to wonder if the cure really did exist. Maybe he should give up. "No," he told himself, "I must never give up. There has to be a cure."  
  
As he was trying to decide where he should look next, he received a frightening message. Amelia, now the queen of Seyruun, was frighteningly ill. No one knew what she had. The citizens were very concerned. Amelia was the greatest ruler of Seyruun. She was respected by not only her subjects but also by rulers from around the world. She was very just. She was harsh on criminals, but everyone agreed that her punishments were more than fair, so she had very few repeat offenders. She was also an eloquent speaker. No longer did she have to climb to heights to get people to listen to her. In her illness, most of what she did was murmur "Zelgadis" over and over again. The citizens of Seyruun figured that Zelgadis should visit in the hopes that he would comfort their queen.  
  
Zelgadis was very concerned. He had been trying for so long to forget Amelia and his other friends, but he just could not seem to do it. It was the hardest to forget Amelia. Something about her stuck in his head, but he wasn't exactly sure what. As much as he wanted to continue to search, he decided that he would visit Amelia. He would leave the next day after a night of sleep and a big cup of coffee first thing in the morning.  
  
That night, Zelgadis had a strange dream. He dreamed that Rezo had never cursed him. Because of this, the world ended up falling in the hands of evil and being completely destroyed. He woke up, somewhat frightened, but he quickly dismissed as just a dream, probably stemming from the fact that he had recently read a book about chaos theory in his search for a cure. He hadn't intentionally read it, but had he found it because it had the word "chimera" in it. While it was sort of interesting, it was a waste of his time.  
  
Zelgadis fixed himself a big cup of coffee and went straight to Seyruun. The first people that he met led him straight to Amelia's room. There, he met up with Lina and Gourry. They looked more or less as he remembered them, although both looked a little bit older. They were both concerned. Filia had not been able to come, but when she heard the news, she sent Amelia a care basket that included tea from her teahouse and pretty flowers in a nice vase. (She decided against sending a mace.)   
  
Zelgadis' eyes finally fell on the bed where Amelia was half-sleeping. She was tossing and turning violenting, repeatedly saying, "Zelgadis! Zelgadis-san!" Zelgadis went over to the bed and said, "I'm here, Amelia." Amelia went silent and still and slept soundly for the first time since she fell ill. Lina, Gourry, and Zelgadis were led out of the room so that Amelia could rest. Gourry was confused about what had happened, but no one was really surprised by that.  
  
After they left the room, they caught up on news. Lina and Gourry were married and had two rambunctious children. Gourry was finally able to do a Lighting spell. Zelgadis found out that Sylphiel had visited the week before, and attempted to use some high level white magic to cure Amelia, but it had only helped a little. While Sylphiel was around, she did some cooking for Gourry and Lina. Even Xellos had visited, but only for a day. The doctors were uncomfortable with him being around.  
  
The next day, Lina and Gourry went off in search of food before visiting the hospital. They invited Zelgadis to come, but he declined. He had a quick cup of coffee before heading to the hospital by himself. When he got there, he saw Amelia in the worst shape she had been in. It pained his heart so much to see her in this shape. He decided to spend a bit of time with her, then go back to looking for his cure. He figured he had a better chance of finding his cure than helping Amelia. He went over to her bed, patted her head, and gave her a quick hug and kiss. He turned around and began leaving the room. Suddenly, he heard a voice. "Zelgadis-san!" it cried out, "Where are you going? You're not going to cure me and just leave, are you?" Zelgadis turned around and saw Amelia sitting up in bed. He slowly walked back to her.  
  
"I cured you?" Zel stammered, "But what did you have? And how did I cure you?"  
  
"I don't know. But I'm basically better now. I think all I need is a few days of mostly rest."  
  
When the doctors checked on Amelia, they were amazed. They didn't really know how to thank Zelgadis for what he had done. Zelgadis, being his modest self, tried to brush off what he had done. He believed that anyone could have done it. Yet, he was the only visitor who had been willing to get that close to Amelia. Even the doctors and nurses had kept their distance whenever possible, frightened that they, too, would get ill. After everyone had calmed done a little, Amelia asked to be alone with Zelgadis for a little bit. Soon, the room was empty except for Amelia and Zelgadis. "Where were you going, Zelgadis-san?" Amelia asked.  
  
"To continue my search for a cure," Zel said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Oh, Zelgadis-san, don't you realize that you have been searching way too hard for the cure? Almost everyone accepts you for who you are. Those that don't are unjust, evil, dark-hearted people, and apparently, yourself. When are you going to accept the fact that you are a chimera and continue on with your life? Also, what are you going to do after you find your cure?"  
  
Zel's face fell. For the first time he was truly ashamed of himself. Amelia had a point, and a good one. Why did he keep searching for his cure? What would he do when he found it? At that moment, he realized that he had no clue what he would do when he was cured. For so long he had focused on one thing, and everything else had become meaningless.   
  
Zelgadis decided then to stay in Seyruun, at least for the time being. He figured Amelia would appreciated that, and he could marry her eventually, maybe. He knew that princes from other areas really wanted to marry her, though none of them loved her. The though of Amelia being married to someone who didn't really love her made Zelgadis feel sad.  
  
A couple months after Amelia was out of the hospital, Seyruun was attacked. Thanks to Zelgadis, the damage done was minimal and no Seyruunian lives were lost. Suddenly, he knew what the dream meant, and he wondered if Rezo somehow planted it in his head. He also knew he had to marry Amelia. He got the permission of Phil, who had passed the crown on to his daughter as he was old and that Amelia would be an even greater ruler than he could ever be. Phil gave permission for the marriage to occur, even though Zelgadis was not royalty, as a marriage of love is always just.   
  
At that moment, a powerful force overcame Zelgadis. He realized that he was a chimera and would always be a chimera. It was what he was supposed to be. He finally accepted that fact. After he accepted it, he was no longer as painfully aware that he was not fully human. He hadn't found the cure that he had been searching for, but perhaps he found something better.  
  



End file.
